Another big four accounting firm expands in the legal space

EY say the acquisition of Riverview Law will extend the existing EY Law offering and add talent in legal innovation and operating model transformation, as well as further driving the current EY technology approach to legal managed services. The Riverview Law technology practice uses a disruptive software from Kim Technologies for delivery of its legal services.

A fast-growing segment

Cornelius Grossmann, EY global law leader, says ‘legal managed services is one of the fastest growing segments of the legal market. This acquisition underlines the position of EY as a leading disruptor of legal services.’ EY Law now comprises more than 2,200 law practitioners in member firms across 81 jurisdictions. The addition of the Riverview Law platform will help organizations to manage legal instructions coming into the function, re-direct work that does not require legal input, triage work that does require legal support to the right team and manage all stages from case opening to case closing, including document creation. It also combines quality, risk management and dashboard tools and a dedicated client support team that understands the culture, risk appetite and demands of legal services clients, helping them to streamline their legal function so that legal teams can focus efforts on key tactical and strategic legal work. The acquisition is led by Chris Price, EY global head of alliances – tax, who will become CEO of EY Riverview Law once the acquisition is complete.

Global upheaval

Karl Chapman, ceo of Riverview Law, says ‘the legal profession is going through a period of significant global upheaval. Changes in regulation, technology and most importantly customer expectation create an opportunity for a more flexible and customer-centric approach to the provision of legal services. Becoming part of EY is a real strategic fit for our team.’ The acquisition, which is conditional on the satisfaction of closing conditions, is expected to complete on 31 August 2018. The move comes hard on the heels of the Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) sale of its 62 percent investment in Lawyers On Demand (LOD) to buyout house Bowmark Capital in May. Unlike DLA Piper, which in the EY deal has managed to offload its remaining stake in Riverview.